On Jan. 19, the Mercer Island emergency preparedness class hosted a graduation for its third Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program.

Attendees spend one Saturday each month learning and gaining experience in the areas of fire safety, search and rescue, disaster medical, basic disaster preparedness, communications, emergency well operations, terrorism response disaster psychology and damage assessment.

Graduates of the program learn preparedness skills, but also have the chance to meet and learn with other Mercer Island residents.

Due to high interest in the program, the city will be offering two classes in 2013, with the first starting on Feb. 9 and the second to be held in the evenings in the fall.

A special thanks was given to Officer Mike Seifer, who facilitated the CERT program.

To learn more about CERT or to register, visit www.mercergov.org.